Caution. Your ability to claim a tax deduction on a traditional IRA may be prohibited if you are covered by a 401k or any qualified pension plan.

Your IRA contribution becomes non-deductible beyond certain income limits. That income limit is reduced when you participate in a qualified plan. The contribution is still allowed above the limit, but it is no longer deductible.

But if your IRA contribution becomes non-deductible due to income, consider a Roth IRA instead. Roth contributions are not deductible, but the distributions are not taxed in retirement. Hence, Roth is preferred in some cases. But not Roth has an income CAP that prevents contributions above certain limits.

For complete information, the IRS has excellent publications on this subject. IRS Pub 17 is a general overview, called "Your Income Tax." Or IRS Pub 590 is specific to IRAs and Roths. Both are available free from the irs.gov website.

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